The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-13
THE MIKADO,
Minister Hubbard Tells How the Japan
csc are Becoming Christians.


Minister Hubbard Tells How the Japan
ese are Becoming Christians.
From the Houston Post.
The following letter from the Hon. R.
b. Hubbard was received by the Rev. w.
X. Marshall, and as it contains information
concerning the evangelization of the Japan
csc empire that may prove of interest to
ministers and church members we publish
| it entire:
:. TOXIC, JAPAN, March Z, 1887.
Reu, DR.. Marshall:
DEAR DoCToR-I hereby take pleasure
IN enclosing for your information the stats
tics of missions and missionary work in
Japan for the year 1886, compiled and pub
lished for the Evangelical Alliance of Japan.
| have no doubt its perusal will be interest
ing to you, and hence l send it. A great
field is wide open" now, and is
becoming wider every year here
in Japan for Christian evan
| gellzation. You will observe that
the various Evangelical churches of the
airy work OF Japan 1t is true that there is
no sectional or political prejudices mani
tested among those devoted men and women
| from our own and all other Christian lands
| who have dedicated their lives and labor to
| the cause of the Master in this wonderful
| and beautiful land. That is true: yet it is
natural that we should wish to see our own
particular portion of the great republic
| more largely represented in the evangelical
ton of these people than at present South
ern Christians seem to have turned their at
tention mostly to China, Burmah and India
vast fields, it is true, for this work,
but not to be compared to Japan
in the present need and urgency,
SO to speak, of consecrated, edu-
Gated, and self-sacrifcing missionary labor
Here are 100000 people on islands con-
tanning not much more than one-half of the
area of the State of Texas! The whole
country is accessible to the heralds of the
cross from all Christian lands Unlike the
Chinese, these people do not cling as to life
itself to their ancient political or religious
traditions or faiths of either church or
state. Within the past one-third of cen
fury their awakening from a sleep of ages
has been marvellous to the Western world
and certainly without a parallel heretofore
in history. In a word, they are ready and
willing, in fact, eagerly so, if convinced, to
let the scales fall from their eyes and to en-
brace new thoughts and creeds, whether of
government, science or religion. Such
people, just at this special juncture, it seems
to me, present the most inviting urgently
inviting-feld for this great work of all
other Oriental lands. lam very truly yours,
RICHARD B. HUBBARD.
The following are the dates of Christian
societies first sending missionaries to Japan:
American Presbyterian church, 1859.
Reformed church in America, 1889
Union Presbyterian church of Scotland,
1874
United Church of Christ in Japan, -.
Reformed church in the United States,
1879.
Presbyterian church in the United States,
1885.
Womens Union Missionary Society of
America, 1871.
Cumberland Presbyterian church, 1887.
American Protestant Episcopal church,
1859
Church Missionary Society, 1869
Society for Propagation of the Gospel,
1878
Society for Promoting Female Education
in the East, 1877.
American Baptist church, 1870.
Disciples, 1888
American Board Commissioners for
Foreign Missions, 1869.
American Methodist Episcopal church,
1872
Canada Methodist church, 1878.
Evangelical Association North America,
1876
Protestant Methodist church, 1880.
American Methodist Episcopal church
General Evangelical Protestant German
Swiss, 1885.
Society of Friends, America, 1885.
Whole number of missionaries in Japan,
215: an increase of 81 from the year 1885.
Organized churches, 1873; churches self
supporting, "a; churches partly self-support-
ing, 119; increase of churches from 1885 to
1886, one year, %.
Total membership churches, 14,S15, an
increase in one year of over 5000 souls
Total number of Sunday schools, 225;
number of scholars, 8, S89, an increase in at
tendance of 2,S70 children.
In the empire there are eleven Christian
theological schools, having a scholarship of
1862 Two more such schools than in 1886
and sixty-seven more students. There are
ninety three native ministers, an increase of
thirty-three in twelve months.
Unordained preachers and helpers, 1856;
forty-four colporteurs and sixty-one Bible
women.
There are eignty-five unmarried female
missionaries engaged i'll the work of evan
gelization and seventeen unmarried male
apostles. Japan is the country to which all
good looking, matrimonially inclined mas
culine evangelists should be sent until their
number at least equals that of the marriage
able lady missionaries